Episode 52: The Firestarter

Scott McClanahan is from West Virginia, which accounts for his twang, and also for his love/hate relationship with the American South. In his 2013 memoir, Crapalachia, McClanahan tells his origin story, growing up in the backwoods of the South. McClanahan is a lovable nihilist when he discusses his writing, as producer Eliza Smith discovered when she spoke with Scott about his work for the Organist. This episode also features “The Firestarter,” one of McClanahan’s short stories that Smith adapted into a radio play for the Organist, in which a man causes car accidents by virtue of his being there to witness them.